Biography

Most musicians have humble beginnings and Carlos Gonsalves is in no way different.
Utensils were his weapon of choice when he was young, forcing his parents, in a way, to
set up with a proper drum kit. Carlos spent hours banging away on those skins, perfecting
his art and moving up the order of percussionists and musicians in Goa.

His first band, Deep Red, brought acclaim and this soft-spoken artiste moved on to Latin
music, jamming with good friends Colin D'Cruz and Lester Godinho, in a band called
Obligato. In fact, Godinho was a mentor in many ways to young Carlos; he taught him
the finer nuances of percussion, giving him the scope and the leeway to create his own
sound within the band. As a percussionist, Carlos experienced new highs, as Latin music
is one of the few genres with a platform to experiment.

On the cards then, was a bit of musical discovery, when Carlos up and left for Ireland.
There, he spent time 'busking' to earn some money, his drum kit case working as a
money box. In Ireland, he spent time playing with several local musicians, fine tuning his
skill on raw Celtic music. Experimentation and constant practice has made Carlos the
musicians he is, that and a perennial search for new sounds. He returned to Goa in 2004,
where he spent his time jamming with old friends and then forming the core group of a
fusion band called Shanti. Based loosely on fusion super group Shakti, Shanti fell in the
same mould, even weaving traditional Goan percussion instruments into the mix. The
group did quite a few shows in Goa and won critical acclaim by music lovers in the state.

Jazz was always one of his keener genres, and Carlos returned to a funky jazz setup along
with founder Colin D'Cruz in the Brown Indian Band - an indo-jazz ensemble. Colin is
one of India's premier bass players and his association with Carlos continues to this day.

Until this time, Carlos was always part of a band, sometimes more than one. But the urge
to promote percussion kept him wondering about the future. He finally decided to take
some time off and realize his dreams. Numerous press articles, workshops and
introspective afternoons later, he released Talking Drums, an educational sort of DVD,
showcasing his skills as a percussionist and drummer.

Ever since then, Carlos has been an integral part of Goan music, a percussionist par
excellence who, though he may provide rhythms for a few experimental jazz, fusion and
blues-rock bands around, is still on the drive to make percussion the main part of a song,
where the other instruments are the backup and not the other way around.